Usurp Synapse

Usurp Synapse is a screamo band from Lafayette, Indiana. The group combines fast and frantic grindcore influenced drumming and guitar work, and raw screams.

Usurp Synapse
OriginLafayette, Indiana
GenresHardcore punk, screamo, grindcore, emoviolence[1]
Years active1998–2001, 2004, 2023-present
LabelsClean Plate Records
Electric Human Project
Happy Couples Never Last
Level Plane Records
Magister Ludi Records
Witching Hour Records
MembersJohn Scott
Travis Chance
Don Kirkland
Tony Dryer
Past membersDustin Redington
Brandon Harris
Dean Duval
Antonio Leiriao
Mike Dixon

History

Usurp Synapse formed in 1998 in Lafayette, Indiana.[2] Their line up changed somewhat frequently during their initial run. Antonio Leiriao, their second vocalist, originally lived in New York[3] before he moved to Indiana in 1999 to join the group. Most of their music was released through split albums with other artists, perhaps their most famous split being their Just Do It! record with Hassan I Sabbah, which included razor blades. Unconventional marketing methods such as this was utilized by the band throughout their run.

In 2000, they toured the United States along with Jeromes Dream, who they also released a split with, and Racebannon from May to June. This would become the only major nationwide tour for the band. In 2001, they announced plans to do another tour in the United States, Europe, and Japan over the summer. They also announced plans to release a split with Pg. 99, a split with Mara'akate shaped as Indiana,[4] and what would have been the band's first full-length album, which was under the working title of ATM Diatribe. That same year Mike Dixon (who previously worked in the band Rep Seki) joined Usurp Synapse as the keyboardist.

Later that same year it was announced that all plans, except for ATM Diatribe, had to be cancelled. ATM Diatribe was initially supposed to be released on compact disc and vinyl through Happy Couples Never Last, however that too was cancelled when the band broke up in the spring of 2001. The tracks from the ATM Diatribe sessions, along with the rest of the band's recorded discography, was eventually released on Disinformation Fix, a discography compilation released through Alone Records.

In 2008, the group released A Vile Contamina through their Myspace page for free. The EP included material recorded during their reformative period.

Former members of the band would later join other projects such as Fax Arcana and The Drago Miette, both of whom are now disbanded. Antonio Leirao would move on to the indie rock band Thin Fevers[5] and is now a funk DJ.[3] Chance now works as a session drummer in New York[6] and was one of the many drummers who played in The Boredoms 2008 88 Boadrums event.[7]

Band members

Final lineup
  • Antonio Leiriao - Vocals (1999-2001, 2023-present)
  • John Scott - Vocals, keyboards (1998-2001, 2004), bass, vocals (2023-present)
  • Don Kirkland - Guitar (1998-2001, 2004, 2023-present)
  • Travis Chance - Drums (1998-2001, 2004, 2023-present)

Past members
  • Mike Dixon - Keyboards (2001)
  • Brandon Harris - Guitar (1999-2001)
  • Dustin Redington - Bass (1998-1999)
  • Dean Duval - Guitar (1998-1999)
  • Tony Dryer - Bass (1999-2001, 2004)

Timeline

Discography

Split releases
Year Album Details Notes
1999 Index For Potential Suicide/Usurp Synapse
  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Witching Hour Records
  • Format: 7"
 1100 black copies, 200 orange copies. 100 copies had special tour edition covers, 20 came with xerox'd covers Split with Index For Potential Suicide.
1999 Index Of Isolation 1000 black colored copies. Split with Emotion Zero.
2000 Rep Seki/Usurp Synapse
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Magester Ludi Records
  • Format: 5" picture disc
 1000 picture disc copies, split with Rep Seki
2000 The Chilling Tale Of Usurp Synapse, As Told By Neil Perry 1100 black copies, 100 copies had alternative artwork under the name Comes Around, Goes Around. Split with Neil Perry.
2000 Just Do It!
  • Released: July 3, 2000
  • Label: Electric Human Project
  • Format: 7"
 1000 black copies, 100 white, 5 test pressings. All white copies came with a razor blade with "have fun!" written on it, some copies also included a bandage stuck onto the front cover. Split with Hassan I Sabbah.
2000 An Aspirin, An X-Ray 1300 white copies, 200 black copies, 20 test pressings. 15 copies had alternative cover art. Some copies included a tour pin. Split with Jeromes Dream

Extended plays
Year Album Details Notes
1999 In Examination Of
  • Released: March 4, 1999 [6"]
    May 1, 2000 [7"]
  • Label: Level Plane Records/Witching Hour Records
  • Format: 6", 7"
 First released in 1999 as a 6" consisting of 666 black copies. 25 copies were sold at live shows with alternative artwork. Reissued in 2000 as a 7" consisting of 200 translucent red copies which was only available through mail-order. The first 99 copies of the 6" version came with "blood pills" (pills with fake blood in them)
1999 This Endless Breath 1000 copies were wrapped in paper, 50 copies were tour editions that came with black covers, 50 copies came with cobra covers. All copies came with stickers.
2000 The Main Ingredient
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: 7"
 Known as "the penis 7 inch" due to its packaging: The front side of the cover included a flap designed as a penis, and the back side included a hole shaped as a vagina. The 7" only included the title track on both sides, however the second side has "Tour Release of 200" etched on it, making it impossible to play. Limited to 200 pink copies.
2008 A Vile Contamina
  • Released: August 2008
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: DL
 Intended to be released sometime in 2004, but shelved soon after completion. It was eventually released for free download on the band's Myspace page in 2008.

Compilation albums
Year Album Details Notes
2003 Disinformation Fix
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Alone Records
  • Format: 2xCD
 Discography compilation that included every single song Usurp Synapse recorded up to that point, including songs from the sessions for the scrapped ATM Diatribe album.

Compilation Appearances
Year Album Details Song
2000 Summertime
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: Kordava Milk Bar Records
  • Format: CD
 "More Than Meets The Eye"
2000 'HCNL Sampler V1.07.00 "Oh, You Are Sick"
2000 Songs Of The Dead 2: Idle Hands
  • Released: September 2000
  • Label: And Heres Where My Troubles Began Records
  • Format: CD
 "Brundle Fly"
2000 Antipodes "Good Luck With Your Book"
2001 Relics Of Ordinary Life "..."

References
  1. "Usurp Synapse's Archived Myspace Page". Myspace. Archived from the original on 14 February 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. "Photos from 1999 [archived]". Archived from the original on June 10, 2003. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  3. n/a (25 July 2016). "Big Ups with Antonio Leiriao". fleamarketfunk.com. Flea Market Funk. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  4. Morris, Kurt. "AllMusic Guide Review Of Disinformation Fix". Allmusic.com. AllMusic Guide.
  5. n/a. "Thin Fevers Biography". musicalfamilytree.com. Musical Family Tree. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  6. Micheal Dixon (17 September 2006). "Interview with Travis Chance". Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  7. Trent Moorman (11 August 2008). "The Boredoms Revel in Rhythm, Numerology for 88 BoaDrums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
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